"I'm really happy. It was needed. I'd been thinking about it for a long time.", he says Simone Consonni. At Paris-Chauny (top photo @westcoo), Simone took home his first win in several years. His first and only pro victory so far was in 2018, a stage of the Tour of Slovenia.
And it's incredible how an athlete of his quality, of his class, who wins the Olympics, doesn't boast a trophy cabinet full of successes. But this is also due to the fact that often, but very often, Consonni had to work for other sprinters. And just as often, bad luck has played a part.
Simone, this blessed victory has finally arrived…
It was about time, this year there have been various misfortunes… It's the first victory with the Cofidis. I had finished on the podium at the Giro, the Tour and on many other occasions… it's a great morale boost. Since this year too, despite myself, I had had ups and downs.
Do we want to remember them?
I had to abandon Tirreno due to a knee problem. Then my grandmother wasn't well. After the Italian championship, I had to stay out for another three weeks. I was very tired. When I started again, After the European silver medal on the track I had Covid again And I spent another week without a bike. But in the last few races I felt my condition improving.
These are difficult times indeed…
Yes. And in fact my thoughts go out to my team, my family, and my girlfriend (former pro Alice Algisi, ed.). She has suffered more than me. She knows well what this life means, fitting everything in every time to see each other…
But now you've won. Let's go to the race...
It's not a long race, I know. But considering the sprinters I beat – Groenewegen, Philipsen, De Lie, demare – and the way I won it, it's good!
How did you win it?
I think it was the second race since the start of the year where the meeting said we shouldn't race for points. Ultimately, they're important. The team has invested, and it's right to fight to avoid relegation. So we raced to win. We could have built our own train. In reality the captain was Bryan Coquard. The race wasn't hard at first, but it was nervous. Lots of ups and downs. We tried to make it harder. I was leading the sprint to Bryan, when after I took a shoulder bump, I felt him lose my wheel. Then he radioed to tell me to go, and I took off. I basically did a 300-meter sprint. That's why it was such a pleasure to win like this. Those are my races, after all. Courses where everyone arrives, but without legs.
Without legs, but a 300-meter sprint is a long one! And anyway, Coquard was clear-headed in warning you over the radio in those few frantic moments...
We went out with the train at 700 meters and at 350 there was this curve where Bryan lost my wheel. And he immediately said to me: "Go, go Conso." He made me understand that I had to go. I didn't run much with him, but he is an honest rider who cares about the teamMaybe someone else would have stopped you after losing the wheel or wouldn't have thought about it.
How did it go the day before? Were there any signs, those mystical things that emerge in hindsight?
A quiet eve. I was coming from a weekend of racing and some altitude in Macugnaga with Pippo (Ganna, ed.), but it certainly wasn't the eve of a World Cup. However, I must say that one of my best friends, Marco Capelli, At 12, he sent me a photo with the banner I found on my way back from Tokyo. "Simone, you're history, now it's time for a party," adding underneath: "Now I'm waiting for the next one." I saw the message just as I was about to get off the bus. It was 12:08, and I replied: "It'll take a while." So I went because the bus was leaving soon. At 5, when I picked up my phone, I found a message from him: "I told you."
And the team?
We were all happy, especially because we ran really well. Even on the final climb, we pushed hard and were the protagonists. And then it's nice, they are not and we are not a team that wins 60 times a year.
What did this victory leave Simone Consonni with?
I managed to get myself unstuck. You know, when you win a sprint like that, it gives you confidence. After those three races in Belgium the previous weekend, I called my trainer, Luca Quinti, and I told him that we should have prepared the sprints better. I didn't feel at ease.
And he was of the same opinion as you?
He told me to stay calm, that I was coming back from yet another return, that I had been at high altitude. Despite this, we passed a day on the track where we all did specific work: rolling starts, standing starts, sprints and even a "hit" in the gymMaybe this also gave me something on a mental level. It unconsciously gave me the confidence to start long. Which then It's certainly a mental thing, because a single session doesn't change thingsI have to thank him.
What's next for you?
I'll be hitting the track soon (yesterday afternoon, ed.)! We'll do some tests with the quartet. As for the road races, I'll... the Bernocchi, the Gran Piemonte, the Paris-Tours and then on the 12th the Veneto ClassicFrom there I'll fly directly to the track world championships, but since I'll be racing on the road on October 12th, I'll skip the quartet (which is on the 12th, ed.). We'll see. Villa what will he make me do.
